If you have ever prayed the Rosary, you may have noticed something different about the first three Hail Marys. They come before the five mysteries begin, immediately after the Apostles’ Creed and the Our Father.
Why are there three? And what are we supposed to be praying for during them?
In a traditional way of praying the Rosary, these three Hail Marys are offered for an increase in the three theological virtues: faith, hope, and charity. The Rosary Center & Confraternity likewise gives the opening sequence as the Apostles’ Creed, the Our Father, and then three Hail Marys for Faith, Hope, and Charity before the Glory Be and the first mystery.
So these three prayers are more than an introduction. They help prepare our hearts for everything that follows.
The Three Hail Marys: Faith, Hope, and Charity
The three Hail Marys can be offered simply:
First Hail Mary: for an increase in faith
Second Hail Mary: for an increase in hope
Third Hail Mary: for an increase in charity
This same pattern appears in our Rosary prayer reference: after the Our Father offered for the intentions of the Holy Father, it assigns the first Hail Mary to faith, the second to hope, and the third to charity.
These are called the theological virtues because they have God as their origin and object. They shape our relationship with him and the way we live as his children.
Before we begin meditating on the mysteries of Jesus and Mary, we are therefore asking God to strengthen the very virtues that help us receive those mysteries more deeply.
The First Hail Mary: For an Increase in Faith
The first Hail Mary is traditionally offered for faith.
Faith is more than knowing facts about God. It is our response to God who reveals himself. It means entrusting ourselves to him, even when we cannot see or understand everything clearly.
This makes faith a fitting prayer before entering the mysteries of the Rosary.
In the Joyful Mysteries, we contemplate Mary receiving the message of the Angel Gabriel and giving herself to God’s will.
In the Sorrowful Mysteries, we remain with Jesus through his Passion when everything seems dark.
In the Glorious Mysteries, we proclaim that Christ has conquered death.
And throughout the Rosary, we contemplate events we did not witness with our own eyes but receive through the faith of the Church.
So as we pray that first Hail Mary, we might quietly ask:
Mary, pray for me, that my faith in your Son may grow stronger.
Perhaps our faith has been shaken by suffering. Perhaps a prayer has gone unanswered. Perhaps we are struggling with doubt or simply feel far from God.
We do not need to hide any of this before beginning the Rosary.
We can bring it with us and pray for greater faith.
The Second Hail Mary: For an Increase in Hope
The second Hail Mary is offered for hope.
Christian hope is not merely wishing that circumstances will improve. It is confidence in God and his promises.
That does not mean Christians never become discouraged. We do.
There are days when illness continues, relationships remain strained, money is tight, grief is heavy, or the future seems uncertain. Sometimes we begin the Rosary carrying situations we have already prayed about many times.
The virtue of hope keeps us from believing that our present difficulty is the end of the story.
The mysteries of the Rosary continually return us to this truth.
Good Friday leads to Easter Sunday. The frightened disciples receive the Holy Spirit. Christ ascends to the Father and promises eternal life. Mary is taken into heaven and crowned in glory.
The Rosary teaches us to look at our lives in the light of what God has done and what he has promised.
As we pray the second Hail Mary, we can ask:
Mary, pray for me, that I may never lose hope in your Son.
We may not know how God will answer a particular prayer. But we can still place ourselves in his hands.
The Third Hail Mary: For an Increase in Charity
The third Hail Mary is offered for charity, the supernatural love of God and neighbor.
This third prayer brings the opening preparation of the Rosary to its natural goal.
Faith teaches us to believe in God.
Hope teaches us to trust in him.
Charity teaches us to love him and, because of him, to love one another.
The mysteries we are about to contemplate reveal this love again and again.
We see Mary’s loving service to Elizabeth in the Visitation. We see Christ’s compassion for sinners and the suffering. Above all, we see the depth of divine love in Jesus giving himself for us on the Cross.
Praying the Rosary should therefore do more than give us peaceful feelings. It should gradually teach us to love.
That may mean becoming more patient with our family, forgiving someone who hurt us, serving someone who needs help, praying for someone we find difficult, or giving more generously of ourselves.
As we pray the third Hail Mary, we can ask:
Mary, pray for me, that I may love God more deeply and love others as Christ calls me to love them.
Why Ask Mary for These Virtues?
The three prayers are Hail Marys because the Rosary invites us to contemplate Christ in company with his Mother.
Mary does not give us faith, hope, and charity independently of God. We ask for her intercession while seeking these graces from the Lord.
And Mary herself gives us a powerful example of all three.
She responds to God’s word in faith.
She continues to trust in God’s promises with hope, even through suffering.
And she lives with extraordinary love for God and for others.
When we pray the Hail Mary, we ultimately arrive at its simple request:
pray for us sinners.
That is what we are doing during these three opening prayers. We are asking the Mother of Jesus to pray with us as we ask God to deepen our faith, strengthen our hope, and increase our charity.
Are the Three Hail Marys Part of the Five Decades?
No.
The three opening Hail Marys are separate from the fifty Hail Marys prayed during the five decades.
A common sequence for beginning the Rosary is:
- Make the Sign of the Cross and pray the Apostles’ Creed.
- Pray one Our Father.
- Pray three Hail Marys for faith, hope, and charity.
- Pray the Glory Be.
- Announce the first mystery and begin the first decade.
The Rosary Center & Confraternity presents this same basic order in its instructions for praying the Rosary.
After this preparation, each of the five mysteries is traditionally prayed with one Our Father, ten Hail Marys, and the Glory Be, with the Fatima Prayer commonly added afterward.
Do I Have to Announce Faith, Hope, and Charity?
You do not need to interrupt the prayer with a long explanation.
A simple intention before each Hail Mary is enough:
For an increase in faith.
Hail Mary…
For an increase in hope.
Hail Mary…
For an increase in charity.
Hail Mary…
You can say these intentions aloud when praying with others or hold them quietly in your heart when praying alone.
The important thing is not merely remembering three labels. It is recognizing what we are asking God to do within us.
A Simple Way to Pray the Three Hail Marys
The next time you begin the Rosary, try not to rush through these first three prayers.
Before the first Hail Mary, think about where your faith needs strengthening.
Before the second, bring to God whatever is making it difficult for you to hope.
Before the third, think of where you need greater love, patience, mercy, or forgiveness.
Then begin the mysteries.
Those few moments can change the way we enter the Rosary. Instead of simply reaching the first decade, we arrive there having already placed our spiritual lives before God.
Preparing Our Hearts for the Mysteries
The three Hail Marys at the beginning of the Rosary are small prayers with a beautiful purpose.
We ask for faith, so that we may believe more deeply.
We ask for hope, so that we may trust God even in uncertainty.
We ask for charity, so that our prayer may lead us to greater love of God and neighbor.
Then, with Mary, we enter the mysteries of Christ.
The goal is not simply to finish a certain number of prayers. The traditional concluding Rosary prayer asks that, by meditating upon its mysteries, we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise. Our own Rosary guide places that prayer after the five mysteries, beautifully connecting meditation with the way we are called to live.
The three opening Hail Marys help prepare us for exactly that journey.
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